An amateur footballer has been jailed for a year after attempting to scam an insurer out of more than a million pounds.
James Shikell was involved in a car accident in 2002 and later received a £30,000 payout from the Motor Insurers' Bureau's compensation scheme that covers cases such as this, where the at-fault driver is uninsured.
However, Shikell claimed that his injuries were so severe that he required £1.35 million to cover loss of earnings, care costs and even accommodation.
Unfortunately for Shikell, an investigator hired by the MIB filmed him playing "vigorously and competitively" during a football game. It later emerged that not only had he played every game during the season, but that he was the team captain.
Shikell's father has also received a one-year sentence for his part in supporting the fraudulent claim, while a footballing teammate was fined for making a false statement.
The chief executive of the MIB, Ashton West, said "This custodial sentence will be a deterrent to those who seek to defraud MIB and therefore every insured driver in Britain."
